LYNN — Vision Lynn: A Comprehensive Plan, which details a 20-year plan for the city, is officially complete after 18 months of work.
“It is a forward-looking document that shows where we want to be 20 years from now,” Principal Planning Director Aaron Clausen said. “The vision articulated in the plan is created in response to the feedback we heard throughout the engagement process and reflects the community’s desires for Lynn.”
Throughout the past 18 months, the creators of the plan have used community engagement, research, and analysis for Vision Lynn, according to a press release from the city.
The 140-page plan, which is available in multiple languages, will be presented to the City Council for its endorsement. It will then go before the Planning Board for approval.
“The creation of this comprehensive plan is a major step forward for the city,” Mayor Jared Nicholson said. “While it is not a prediction about the future, it reflects who we are today and the Lynn we want to be in the future.”
The plan is broken up into three different sections: vision, values and strategies; land use and urban reform; and infrastructure and implementation.
“What we boiled it down to is these three vision statements, that Lynn will be a city that’s safe and comfortable, that Lynn will be a place where everyone has access to what they need to have a fulfilling life, whether it’s housing, transportation, jobs, etc.,” Associate Planning Director Lauren Drago said in April. “And that finally, Lynn will be a city to be proud of with strong, diverse, and connected communities that take care of each other.”
In order to hear from Lynn residents about what they want for their city, Vision Lynn planners put out surveys, did interviews, attended big events, and conducted media outreach.
“There are more than 40 strategies identified for how we get to the vision statements that the community put together,” Clausen said.
One of the questions they asked residents was “How do Lynners define good development?”
Some of the responses were that good development should honor who is already here, help residents solve problems instead of making new ones, and be on residents’ terms as a community.
Nicholson said that improving the circumstances of those who work, live, and visit the city is the goal of the plan.
“We continue to grow as a community and we need our schools, our job base, our housing stock, and our infrastructure to grow as well. We want to be a thriving city that is a beloved home for all of us,” Nicholson said.
